The World Goes On Even As The Color Fades
by Five-0Forever
Summary: Neal's world explodes in fire and the object of his affections gets hurt. Slash.


Don't own anything.

* * *

_I'd crawl across this world for you,_

_Do anything you want me to._

_No matter what, remember, you know I'd always come for you_

_You know I'd always come for you._

_I'd Come For You – Nickelback _

**Neal**

Heat. Glass. Fire. It was everywhere. I turned to the side with the most heat and saw a building going up in flames. The building that I was supposed to be in. Something in my brain clicked and I ran forward only to be stopped by arms wrapping around my shoulders. I struggled but it was no use. The arms were stronger than me.

My mind was focused on the building and everything else was immediately deemed unimportant.

_Neal, please stop._

A light pressure on my shoulder.

_There's nothing we can do._

The mysterious arms tightened around me.

_There's nothing __**you**__ can do._

I didn't know where the words were coming from but the sounds were familiar. One was kind of feminine and the other was deeper, male. Both were asking me to stop. _Stop what?_

_Neal._

A third sound, another feminine touch to it. It seemed wrong to hear that particular sound in this place.

I felt like there should've been a fourth sound. Then I realized what was missing and why I felt so disconnected with everything but the flames. My life was in that building. There were two people I loved more than anything else in the world and one was in the fire.

I felt a strange pain in my knees. Color shifted to gray, and the world tilted. As everything faded to black, I screamed my pain to the sky. Then everything was blissfully quiet.

* * *

_I wish I could save you._

_I wish I could say to you,_

_I'm not going nowhere._

_I wish I could say to you,_

_It's gonna be alright._

_Save You – Kelly Clarkson_

**Elizabeth**

I was at home, gratefully appreciating my first day off in a while, when the phone rang. I answered it.

"Elizabeth. It's Diana. We have a situation here."

"Is Peter okay?"

"We don't know yet."

"What do you mean you don't know?" She explained about the building and Neal. I hung up the phone and got in my car and drove to the warehouse Diana gave me the address to.

I immediately spotted Jones wrapped around Neal who was doing everything he could to escape the hold. It looked like he was trying to go inside the warehouse. I must have gotten out of the car at some point because I suddenly found myself in front of Neal.

I softly called his name. No answer. It didn't seem like he heard me.

Seconds later, his eyes dulled and he passed out while Jones gently lowered him to the ground. Before his eyes closed he'd screamed. It was filled with so much agony and distress; it made me remember why I came.

As Neal's scream echoed in my head I turned to look at the burning warehouse with tears rolling down my face.

"PETER!"

* * *

**_*Undetermined Amount of Time Later*_**

_I'm yours to keep_

_And hold onto your words_

_'Cause talk is cheap_

_And remember me tonight when you're asleep_

_Fall For You – Secondhand Serenade_

**Neal**

It was a miracle. That is the only explanation I have for a man surviving a burning warehouse collapsing around him. It took a long time but Peter finally made it back home and, not so long after that, to work.

I still have nightmares. They're not as frequent as they used to be but when they come around they leave me shaking and in tears. I've never caught it but I know El has them too. When we are alone together, we sit in a strangely comfortable silence or we talk about useless things over coffee.

The only good thing that came out of this nightmare, if it can be called a good thing, is I finally got the courage to tell Peter and Elizabeth I'm in love with them. They took it surprisingly well, actually.

_"I love you. Both of you."_

_"What?" Trust Peter to not understand when I need him to understand most._

_"I'm in love with you and El." A shocked look crossed his face and small, female hands held my head as Elizabeth kissed me. When we broke apart, she led me to the couch where Peter was sitting with a smile. I smiled back and leaned over and kissed him too._

Now I live with them, but I still have most of my stuff at June's. More often than not, I open my door to find Mozzie sleeping on the couch with a wine glass on the table.

Things at work soon returned to normal. People finally stopped giving me pitying looks when they thought I wouldn't notice. On more than one occasion I saw Diana or Jones running some junior agent way too curious for their own good out of the office or yelling at people to get back to work when they stopped to stare as I walked by.

Cases got solved. Diana and Jones stayed while other agents came and went. I stopped sleeping in the guest room at home, instead choosing to crawl into bed with Peter and El curled around me.

There is a distinct feeling of something being different but, now, loving and knowing I'm being loved back, I wouldn't change a thing.

_I was wrong, I was wrong,_

_Thinking my heart can be my own._

_I was strong, I was strong,_

_When I had a reason to hold on._

_Let me fall, let me fall for you._

_Let Me Fall For You – David Cook_

* * *

I hope you liked it. I know I skipped a lot but I'm terrible at hospital scenes. We just don't get along. Thanks for reading. I'm really busy at the moment so sorry for any mistakes. I won't be able to post much.

~Five-0Forever


End file.
